-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Johan Friso , the 43-year-old Dutch prince who was injured in an avalanche at an Austrian ski resort last week , has suffered brain damage , his doctor said Friday .

`` After the latest neurological test we conducted yesterday it became clear that the lack of oxygen -LRB- to -RRB- the brain of the patient caused massive damage , '' Dr. Wolfgang Koller told CNN affiliate SBS NL .

`` Fifty minutes of reanimation is a very long time . One could also say too long , '' he added . `` Our hope was that the relatively moderate level of hypothermia might have protected the brain somewhat . Unfortunately this was not the case . ''

Friso , a son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands , had been airlifted to hospital in Innsbruck after the incident .

He was skiing outside the bounds of the ski resort with friends at the resort of Lech am Arlberg when he was hit by an avalanche , a spokesman for the state of Vorarlberg said .

No one else in the group was injured .

The prince was under the snow for a `` short period of time , '' the spokesman said . He was wearing an electronic beacon that helped rescuers quickly find him .

Lech am Arlberg is in Austria 's Vorarlberg state , a popular skiing area in western Austria .

The town 's mayor told the station `` that we have hoped for a miracle . ''

`` We have hoped that Prince Friso will recover again , '' said Mayor Ludwig Muxel . `` There had been similar accidents and people nearly recovered fully . So we hoped that his health conditions would improve . ''

The region 's avalanche agency reported there was a considerable to great chance of avalanches in Lech last week . It cited new snowfall on top of a packed layer of snow that could cause snow slabs to slide off .

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Dutch prince Johan Friso has suffered from brain damage , his doctor says

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He was injured in an avalanche at an Austrian ski resort last week

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Friso , a son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands , was airlifted to hospital in Innsbruck

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Lech am Arlberg is in Austria 's Vorarlberg state , a popular skiing area in western Austria